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From: paul.winalski@gmail.com (Paul Winalski)
Subject: [TUHS] Why did PDPs become so popular?
Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2017 21:20:09 -0500	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <CABH=_VSa8XdaME6BZHw1RarLaUCjdBXf=XvJC44EBY-nst72eg@mail.gmail.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <CAK7dMtDZaabjLwxOZk=ah++MbPxryQei1Fi=qGSX0vjhAmAxZQ@mail.gmail.com>

On 12/29/17, Kevin Bowling <kevin.bowling at kev009.com> wrote:
> Enlightening to read
> about how the coherence protocol was developed in software.  How was
> the ISA, and I assume even implementation detail, kept equal or close
> enough to the eventual microprocessor parts?  Does the "Privileged
> Architecture Library" mean it was effectively microcoded?

Yes, IMO the Alpha PALcode was a form of microcode.  DEC designed the
Alpha ISA with the hardware folks working closely with the VMS and DEC
UNIX (soon to become Tru64 UNIX) OS groups to insure that the correct
balance of PALcode vs. implemented-in-hardware was struck.

-Paul W.


  parent reply	other threads:[~2017-12-30  2:20 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 37+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
2017-12-29 16:38 Larry McVoy
2017-12-29 23:54 ` Kevin Bowling
2017-12-30  0:04   ` Larry McVoy
2017-12-30  0:54   ` Lawrence Stewart
2017-12-30  1:47     ` Kevin Bowling
2017-12-30  2:19       ` Lawrence Stewart
2017-12-30  2:35         ` Paul Winalski
2017-12-30  2:20       ` Paul Winalski [this message]
2017-12-31  2:47     ` Henry Bent
2017-12-30  1:07   ` Ron Natalie
2017-12-30  2:30     ` Paul Winalski
2017-12-31  3:00       ` Henry Bent
2017-12-31  9:59         ` Arrigo Triulzi
2017-12-31 15:55         ` Paul Winalski
  -- strict thread matches above, loose matches on Subject: below --
2017-12-31  5:20 Rudi Blom
2017-12-31 12:56 ` Clement T. Cole
2017-12-31 15:03   ` Steve Simon
2017-12-28 14:05 Noel Chiappa
2017-12-28 15:59 ` Paul Winalski
2017-12-28 16:08   ` Larry McVoy
2017-12-28 23:28     ` Theodore Ts'o
2017-12-29 11:04       ` Kevin Bowling
2017-12-29 23:35         ` Jon Forrest
2017-12-29 23:58           ` Larry McVoy
     [not found] <109152082.5216233.1514413535270.ref@mail.yahoo.com>
2017-12-27 22:25 ` Dave Ritchie
2017-12-27 22:32   ` Dave Horsfall
2017-12-27 23:44     ` Paul Winalski
2017-12-27 23:38   ` Kevin Bowling
2017-12-28  0:07     ` Paul Winalski
2017-12-28  0:45       ` Kevin Bowling
2017-12-28  1:39       ` Ron Natalie
2017-12-27 21:02 Alec Muffett
2017-12-27 21:50 ` Grant Taylor
2017-12-28  1:23   ` Alec Muffett
2017-12-27 21:51 ` Clem Cole
2017-12-27 21:52   ` Clem Cole
2017-12-28  2:14   ` Greg 'groggy' Lehey

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